EY cuts 232 jobs as big four job losses widen

afr.com:

EY Oceania will cut 232 people, more than 2 per cent of its 10,700-strong workforce, as a “significant” reduction in demand from financial services and public sector clients hits its bottom line.

The firm, which was the only big four giant to avoid cutting staff during the COVID-19 pandemic downturn, has now joined its consulting rivals in reducing staff numbers in Australia. The total reduction adds up to roughly 950 people, or about 2 per cent of their collective workforce of 42,700.

PwC on Wednesday said it was cutting 344 staff, or more than 4 per cent of its 8000-strong workforce. This followed an earlier cut by PwC of 47 in late June. KPMG has cut 300, or 3 per cent of its workforce of 10,000 and Deloitte is cutting unspecified dozens of its workforce.

The staff reductions are part of a global trend as high interest rates, a slump in mergers and acquisitions, and a growing number of scandals cause private and public sector clients to defer or delay hiring the firms.

Affected EY staff were told on Thursday they were being made redundant. Almost 90 of the cuts came from the firm’s financial services team. EY had earlier tried to reduce costs through measures such as reducing non-essential travel, cutting back on recruitment, deferring the start date of about 12 per cent of its graduates and forcing staff to take three of their four weeks of leave at Christmas.

EY Oceania chief executive David Larocca was surprised by the sharp downturn in a “challenging and uncertain environment” this financial year, but hoped demand would pick up again by the middle of next year.

EY chief executive David Larocca appearing at the ongoing Senate inquiry into consulting. Martin Ollman

EY had been particularly hit by a fall in “demand